This project will therefore examine the views of children and kin carers in informal kinship care to ascertain how well their needs are being met and what services or financial support would be needed to reduce the impact of any particular difficulties they face and to optimise children’s development funded by Big Lottery Fund.
One of the major contemporary concerns is how best to provide stability and permanence for children whose own parents are unable to care for them consistently or predictably. Children may be cared for by relatives, foster carers or adoptive parents. The Hadley Trust has a keen interest in improving practice in children’s social care by funding research and active dissemination of findings. Initially the Trust funded the work of the Hadley Centre at the University of Bristol (2000-2019). Funding has now transferred to the Hadley research programme based at the Rees Centre where work on understanding and improving the lives of looked after and adopted children continues.